Multiple work station tire building machine

Claim 2

The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said tread applicator means comprises horizontally disposed conveyor means located at an elevation below said transfer means and below said building drum for conveying individual tire tread strips toward the underside of said building drum, said conveyor means including means for applying said tire tread strips to the periphery of said rotatable building drum when said first transfer member is in a position thereof spaced from said building drum.

Claim 3

The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising strip centering means located along the path of said continuous strip of breaker material for maintaining said continuous strip of breaker material in registry with said transfer means and control means located along said path upstream of said transfer means for controlling the rate of feed of said continuous strip material to said transfer means.

Claim 4

The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said building drum is radially expansible and contractable, said carcass support means being axially spaced from said building drum, and said breaker-tread transfer means comprising a radially expansible and contractable and axially movable transfer ring cooperable with said building drum, said breaker strips having a magnetically attractable material therein, and said building drum including means on the outer surface thereof for magnetically attracting said breaker strips to said drum.

Claim 5

The apparatus according to claim 1, in which said breaker transfer means and said tread applicator means move said severed strip portions and said strips of tread material, respectively, along paths which lie in the median circumferential plane of said building drum.

Claim 6

A tire-building apparatus comprising, in combination; supply means for supplying a continuous strip of bias-cut breaker material; severing means for severing strip portions from said continuous strip of breaker material; a building drum supported for rotation at a given location spaced from said severing means; breaker transfer means cooperating with said building drum at said given location for applying said severed strip portions thereto in such a manner as to form on the periphery thereof an annular breaker having at least one pair of plies; tread applicator means cooperating with said building drum at said given location for applying a strip of tread material therearound so as to form an annular breaker-tread assembly thereon; carcass support means spaced from said given location of said building drum and adapted to support a tire carcass; breaker-tread transfer means shiftable between said given location of said building drum and said carcass support means for shifting a completed breaker-tread assembly from said building drum to a position surrounding a carcass on said carcass support means; said breaker transfer means including a first transfer member in the form of a rotatable drum adapted to receive successive ones of said severed strip portions on the surface thereof, and means for shifting said rotatable drum between positions respectively adjacent said severing means and said building drum, said breaker transfer means further comprising a second transfer member shiftable between a position adjacent said rotatable drum and a position adjacent said building drum for changing the orientation of alternate ones of said strip portions so that they are oriented oppositely with respect to the remaining strip portions and for applying said oppositely-oriented alternate strip portions to said building drum; and means associated with said carcass support means for assembling together said carcass with said breaker-tread assembly.

Claim 7

The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said rotatable drum comprises at least a pair of segments adapted to receive successive ones of said severed strip portions on the respective surfaces thereof, shifting means being adapted to shift said segmented drum generally horizontally and said apparatus further comprising means for shifting said second transfer member in generally vertical direction.

Claim 8

The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said building drum is rotated in a given direction of rotation by said drum for applying the first of a pair of breaker plies thereto, and is rotated also in said given direction of rotation by said second transfer member for applying the second of such pair of breaker plies thereto, said apparatus further comprising a drive means associated with said building drum for rotating the latter in said given direction of rotation for winding the tire tread thereon.

Claim 9

A tire-building apparatus comprising, in combination: supply means for supplying a continuous strip of bias-cut breaker material; severing means for severing strip portions from said continuous strip of breaker material; a breaker building drum supported for rotation at a given location spaced from said severing means; breaker transfer means cooperating with said building drum at said given location for applying said severed strip portions thereto in such a manner as to form on the periphery thereof an annular breaker having at least one pair of plies, said breaker transfer means including a segmented drum positioned intermediate said severing means and said breaker building drum and rotatable about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of said breaker building drum, said segmented drum being shiftable laterally between positions adjacent said severing means and said building drum, respectively, for transferring severed strip portions to the latter; tread applicator means cooperating with said building drum at said given location for applying a strip of tread material therearound so as to form an annular breaker-tread assembly thereon; carcass support means spaced from said given location of said building drum and adapted to support a tire carcass; breaker-treAd transfer means shiftable between said given location of said building drum and said carcass support means for shifting a completed breaker-tread assembly from said building drum to a position surrounding a carcass on said carcass support means; and means associated with said carcass support means for assembling together said carcass with said breaker-tread assembly.

Claim 10

The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said building drum is supported for rotation about a fixed first horizontal axis, said breaker supply means including a supply spool rotatable about a second axis parallel to said first axis and including conveyor means for supplying the continuous strip of breaker material along a given path extending generally towards said building drum; said segmented drum being second axes, said tread applicator means including conveyor means located at a level below said segmented and said building drums for conveying individual tire threads to said building drum and comprising means for applying said treads upwardly onto the periphery of said building drum, and said severing means cooperating with said segmented drum for severing the strip material thereon.